AN alleged gunman who tried to rob four people in a car park accidentally shot himself in the head as he tried to get away, police have said.
The alleged robbery and shooting happened at around 3am on Wednesday in a parking lot outside a Denny's restaurant in Hawthorne, California.
Shocking footage released by Eyewitness News appears to show the moment the suspected armed robber unwittingly shoots himself as he is run over by his victims' car.
CCTV outside the car park shows four diners leaving the restaurant and getting into a car when a man approached the vehicle and attempts to rob them.
Security cameras from inside Denny's captured one of the female victims frantically running inside the restaurant to get help as staff dial 911.
Authorities said the alleged robber was running towards two accomplices who were waiting around the corner in a getaway vehicle.
The suspect can be seen fleeing the scene when the driver in the alleged victim's car reverses quickly and speeds towards the gunman knocking him down.
Luitenant Ti Goetz from Hawthorne police said: "He's running away from the scene with a gun in his hand when the victims chased him in the car.
"When they struck him it launched his body up in the air and somewhere in that process, the gun in his hand fired, resulting in him getting a bullet in the head."
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When officers arrived, they found an unconscious man in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the face.
His injuries appeared so severe that it wasn't clear at first if he was shot, stabbed or sustained another type of injury, authorities said.
The injured suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken to hospital for surgery.
He is said to be in a "critical but stable condition".
No other injuries were reported.
The wounded man's gun was recovered at the scene.
His two accomplices fled the parking lot and remained at large.
The four victims initially left the scene but three of them later returned and provided statements to officers.
The police investigation is ongoing.
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